The Two-Way

The Great Recession touched a vast majority of Americans personally, a new study from Rutgers' Heldrich Center finds.

The most stunning number in the study: "Some 73 percent [of Americans] either lost a job themselves, or had a member of their household, a close relative, or a friend lose a job at some point in the past four years."

The report is pretty depressing. A few more findings:

-- 56 percent say they have less money in savings now than before the recession.

-- The vast majority think college will be permanently out of reach for most young people.

-- A majority of Americans think it'll take at least six years before the economy recovers fully. 30 percent said it will never recover.

Cliff Zukin, co-author of the report, summed it up for The New York Times: "This to me is why the recession was so all-consuming and is likely to influence the American psyche," he said. "Almost everyone, four out of five, were directly or one step removed from unemployment and all that goes with it financially, socially, psychologically."